2012 Summer Olympics Recap: Day 5 — Missy Franklin and Allison Schmitt lead US to Gold in 4×200 Freestyle Relay

The US women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay team won gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on Wednesday, but China claimed the lead in the overall medal count. Here’s Wednesday’s Olympic Games’ recap:

American Allison Schmitt swam past Australia’s Alicia Coutts in the anchor leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, as the US women’s swim team claimed the gold medal on Wednesday. Schmitt and teammates Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer and Shannon Vreeland helped the US to its fifth consecutive medal in the 4×200 freestyle, including its fourth gold.

In one of the day’s most exciting races, American Nathan Adrian edged out Australia’s James Magnussen by one-one hundredth of a second in the men’s 100-meter freestyle event. Trailing for much of the race, Adrian surged to victory and hit the wall at 47.52 to Magnussen’s 47.53. Elsewhere in the pool, Daniel Gyurta of Hungary set a new world record in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:07.28 minutes.

The host nation captured its first two gold medals of the London Games on Wednesday when British rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the women’s pair event and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins’ captured the men’s individual time trial in cycling.

In a controversial move, the Badminton World Federation disqualified four duos for throwing early round games to improve their seedings in the medal tournament. Three teams — two from South Korea and one from Indonesia — appealed the ruling, but were denied. The dismissed Chinese team accepted the decision without appeal.

US cyclist Kristin Armstrong earned the gold medal in the women’s individual time trial, while American gymnast Danell Leyva won the bronze in the men’s individual all-around gymnastics competition. After being far back in the field, Leyva rallied with impressive routines on the parallel bars and high bar to secure third place behind gold medal-winner Kohei Uchimura of Japan and Marcel Nguyen of Germany.

Rounding out the US medal winners on Wednesday were divers Kristian Ipsen and Troy Dumais, who won bronze in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard, and the US women’s rowing team, who secured the bronze in quadruple sculls without a coxswain.

In other event results, Angelique Kerber of Germany knocked out three-time gold medal winner Venus Williams of the US, while Williams’ sister Serena rolled past Vera Zvonareva of Russia. On the men’s side, Roger Federer of Switzerland advanced over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-5, 6-3. Two-time defending gold medalist Mariel Zagunis suffered two surprising losses in the medal rounds of the women’s individual sabre competition in fencing. She will not medal in 2012. Likewise, U.S. archer Brady Ellison, ranked No. 1 in the world, was knocked out in the round of 16.